Toughing it Out
by Pixlpower15859
Summary: The one kid in South Park no one can stand yet people hang out with: Eric Cartman. He's known for being notorious, manipulative, sociapathic, and possibly the worst guy around. And yet, something strange goes on with him. Every villain has their backstory, and not everyone knows who they are, or what they do when they're alone. But does it put him in a new light?
1. Gotta Look Kewl

**A/N: Looky here, a new fanfic! This is also my first South Park fanfiction, which I am quite proud of. Yeah, Eric Cartman is the main protagonist, and I'm putting a lot of feels for him (I sympathize, okay?). Also, as a common thing with my fanfics, I avoid strong profanity. Yeah, that takes a lot out of the relation to the show, which is really weird. Heck, I'll probably have a really weird time writing this myself. Of course, I'll make sure the personalities and character of every character stays as accurate as possible (Cartman mostly aside, since I'm taking a deep turn to his more insecure side).  
**

 **Also, for those of you who read my stories and came across this one, I'd recommend watching South Park episodes (if you're old enough, like old enough to own a fanfiction account binding age restrictions and all that) so you get the characters, what they act like, and what they do so this makes sense to you. If you're too young, like below teen's age, then don't watch the episodes. You can read this fanfic, there's no huge profanity or themes that the show has, but you need knowledge of the characters, as the story is built so that whoever reads this knows who the characters are.**

 **Disclaimer: All characters belong to Trey Parker and Matt Stone. I own none of it.**

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Chapter 1: Gotta Look Kewl

"A-and you know what Craig said to Jimmy? Huh? Huh?" Eric said between gasps of air as he laughed hysterically. He waited a moment to see if his friends would answer.

"... What?" asked Stan, his eyes locked on his lunch as he took another bite.

"He-he said, 'Dude, if you're going to make a joke about me, do it right.'" The eighth grader pounded the lunch table with a heavy fist, shaking it so much it was probably on the verge of breaking. Everyone held their lunches above the shaking furniture, giving Eric another annoyed glare. The table creaked annoyingly as well, almost threatening to break itself after years of being hit.

Kyle groaned. "Dude, can you not? Five years you've been doing this, and it's almost like the things you tell and laugh at are just things you forcibly make funny."

Eric stopped laughing and pounding the table. He glared at his red headed friend. "Well don't mind me, Kyle. I'm just trying to make things a little more funny around here, ya know? Gotta laugh a little more, right guys?" No one responded to Eric. Kyle shook his head in annoyance. "There's nothing to laugh about right now, Cartman. Can we just eat and have normal chatter without you butchering anything we say into something you call 'hilarious?'"

Eric scoffed, and stared at the burger in his hands. With a small grunt, he bit into the juice-soaked patty. They kinda did have a point: nothing out of the ordinary, or South Park ordinary, had happened recently. And he was just trying to liven up the mood, even though he was already unsuccessful at it.

It was a lazy November Monday at South Park Middle School. A week has passed since Halloween, and everyone was talking about their nightly time getting treats and spooking friends. Others were beginning to talk about how short their time at the school was until graduation day. Most have confirmed they're going to the high school within town, and others have not. In the meantime, everyone wanted to make sure they spent the most fun with friends in case they never got to meet up again. And that was one of Eric's main goals. Or at least a goal he hoped to reach.

"So fellas, I was thinking we all could go and watch the Terrance and Phillip reboot this Saturday," Butters suggested. "My parents are allowing me to invite friends over to my house just this once as long as no one makes a mess of anything."

From across the table, Craig snickered."So you're not inviting Cartman? Seems like a plan to me." Eric gave the dark-haired teen a threatening glare. "AY!"

"He's got a point, fatty," said Kyle. "Almost every time we hang out, you're the one raiding food like nobody's business. In fact we had to do hangouts at your place because your mom is the only one who can ever stand you and your need for food constantly." It was true anyway. Eric ate a lot at every hangout, and left only a few options for everyone else. Not many parents of South Park could really stand it. In fact they've spent their hangouts at the Cartman's residence since the beginning of eighth grade, and even Eric's mom was getting tired of getting food for her son's friends.

"O-oh, well, I'm still inviting Cartman," said Butters. "But he just has to behave and stuff."

"Not gonna happen," Stan remarked. Eric pouted. He's gotten really tired of how everyone has little to no faith in him being able to do anything aside from eat and make comments about everyone. He has been trying lately... it just hasn't worked out. "I can behave, you guys!"

"If so, then prove it," Clyde spoke up as he took another bite of his taco. Bits of meat and taco shell spewed as he talked. "Up to this weekend when we hang out with Butters, you have to be as nice as possible. If you fail this, then you're not invited." Craig snickered again.

"Butters is the one who decides whether to invite me or not, Clyde."

"Still."

Stan rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Clyde, that's a pathetic challenge. Cartman's going to lose today, so there's no point in trying. Besides, today's Monday. Cartman has to be nice for six days in a row. There's no way he could make it."

"I'm sitting right here, Stan!" Eric shouted.

"And I was sitting here the whole time you were talking about me and Jimmy, but I didn't care," said Craig. "What do you say to that?"

Eric couldn't think of anything to say, especially with the challenge he's been put up with. "... Touche. But I'll take up the challenge only if you guys don't abuse this to purposely make me angry. Got that?" Everyone agreed. Kyle couldn't help but snicker a bit.

"Oh what now, Kyle?"

"Nothing, really," said the latter. "But I know this is going to be interesting. You're the most racist, annoying, manipulative, and worst person around, and now you have a challenge where you have to be nice. It's kinda funny, right Kenny?" Kenny, who sat next to Kyle, stared down at his food, hesitating to answer. "Kenny?"

"Um... well, I wouldn't answer this if it's obvious, right?" Kenny looked up at Kyle, his face a little blank. He scratched his messy blonde hair, specks of dust falling on the table. He's kept his hood down since seventh grade so the teachers could hear him clearly the first time instead of asking what he said again and again. Kyle grinned, and stared at Cartman as if he's made his point clear. His friend grimaced in return.

"So anything else to say, Cartman?" asked Craig. Eric had an unsure look. He really wanted to say something snarky to quiet him, but with his given challenge he couldn't say a thing. He sighed and shook his head.

"Good. This will be interesting."

...

"I swear, this class is gonna kill me someday," Cartman exhaled sharply as he massaged the bridge of his nose. "Flipping vocabulary definitions driving me nuts."

He flipped through pages with a growing frustration. Looking up words is always annoying and super time-consuming; probably why it was a weekly homework for the class. It was English class, and their teacher gave them a list of words to look up on their dictionary and study for a quiz on Friday. It was his least favorite thing to do in class, especially since looking up words is a tedious task on its own. He barely memorized the words and their definitions, given how much time he spends crafting plans and ways to get at Kyle or maintain his status as an awesome dude at South Park Middle.

Cartman took a deep breath and massaged his head with two fingers from each hand. It's only been ten minutes of looking up five words and he was getting tired and irritated. Has anyone finished the definitions yet? The people that came to mind were Wendy and Kyle, the two smartest kids in class. No doubt would they be done now and doing other homework.

The boy looked around among the working students. To his left was Kyle, and to his right was Kenny. In front of him was Wendy, and behind him was Craig. Stan was all the way across the room. Not entirely sure what he was doing, Eric leaned forward and tapped Wendy's back. The girl whipped around, her hair flying and nearly hitting the boy in the face. She grunted when she saw at Eric, obviously irritated with him. "What do you want, Cartman?"

Eric shrugged. He was always a little nervous talking to the sometimes overachieving Wendy Testaburger. She did beat him up once, after all, and despite his schemes always got the best of him. Regardless, he hid his nervousness and spoke as if he was in good terms with her. "Did you finish finding the definitions?"

Wendy scoffed and rolled her eyes as if she had been asked that a million times. "I'm not letting you copy my list or tell you which page." Eric stared at the angered girl. "That's not what I ask-"

"I did finish, and you should finish by yourself. I'm trying to not be mean, honest. But... please, I need a little space." Wendy turned back to her desk, heaving a sigh. Eric stared in surprise before looking back to his list and dictionary. He didn't even get to scoff and say that he wasn't asking for help and was just there to ask. Wendy must have had an issue to deal with that was stressing her a bit. He felt a tap on his shoulder, and turned to see Kenny looking at him with confused eyes.

"Dude, what's the problem?" the orange hooded blonde asked. Eric shook his head again.

"Girl wasn't giving me anything. I'm being nice and she didn't answer my question."

Kenny sighed with a bored look. "I sit beside you, so there wasn't anything I didn't notice." He snorted. "Although I am a little surprised you didn't give her some remark like you usually do."

Cartman furled his brows. "I said I was gonna win this, and I will. I'm not losing to Kyle, Kenny!"

"You mean Clyde."

"Clyde, Kyle, pretty much the same. They provoked me, and there's no way I'll lose."

Kenny smiled a tiny bit. "You'd better do the classwork already. I'm almost done, and I wouldn't let you copy me either."

Eric looked at the teen's paper, and stared at him skeptically. On Kenny's paper were amateur doodles of women instead of the vocabulary. Kenny almost laughed.

"Hey, I have my actual paper underneath." Eric rolled his eyes. But he smiled a tiny bit. Kenny seemed to be the only other person, aside from Butters, who respected him a bit more than others do from time to time, or so it seems to be. Although he had to put up with Cartman's insults and manipulative schemes from the past, he stuck with him all the way, just like everyone else. Unlike Butters, he wasn't oblivious to what was happening. Butters was a good kid, and was the humor of the group when he had replaced Kenny for some time. Stan and Kyle were guilty of using him as well, but bygones were bygones, and they remained friends throughout the years.

Eric's tiny smile flipped into a frown. Friends. Then he remembered he smiled a tiny bit, becoming conscious of his distraught face. He looked around, seeing if anyone was paying attention to him. No one was eyeing the teen, rather alternatively switching glances between the board and their papers. He sighed, glad that no one saw that. He remembered why he was looking around his neighbors and tapped a red head's arm.

Kyle looked at his classmate with the same look as Wendy. "No." Eric looked at him with wide eyes and a gaped mouth. His eyebrows furled almost angrily. "What are you talking about, Kyle?"

"Dude, I sit right next to you. I saw you talking to Wendy, and you don't exactly whisper. You can't copy my work," Kyle went back to working on the vocabulary. Cartman huffed, and turned back to his own paper.

The bell sounded. Eric sighed while everyone else packed up their things and rushed for the door. He sighed exasperatedly as he puts away his own things and tosses his backpack over his shoulders. He steps out of the classroom and into a river of students down the hall. Walking on, students break off from the flow and gather into little groups near lockers, talking and laughing with their friends. Eric glanced at each of them he passes by and sighs.

When he got to his locker, he shuffled around the contents of his bag until he stuffed it with his homework. Zipping it up, he put the lock back and threw his bag over his shoulders before setting off to find his friends. I actually made it past the rest of the school day, Eric thought, remembering the bet. He didn't think he'd make it that far, considering his regular choice of words. The guys will be impressed by this.

He found the rest of his group hanging around Butter's locker, talking to a shaky blonde and a brunet with a bright yellow shirt. "'Sup guys. What'cha doing?"

Butters turns to him with a smile. "Oh hey, Eric! The guys and I were just telling Tweek and Jimmy about the challenge you took on, since they weren't sitting with us during lunch."

"I must say, I'm q-q-quite impressed, Eric," Jimmy congratulated. "Although I don't understand why you'd bring me up in one of your c-conversations." Cartman shrugged.

"Nnngh! To be honest, I don't think you'll make it past today, Cartman," Tweek said as he tugged at his shirt nervously. "N-Not to discourage you or anything, but I wouldn't bet you'd make it farther than today. Anyone could agree to that."

Eeeuugh, does everyone really have little faith in me?Cartman thought. Well at least I'm being congratulated for my efforts, because it was difficult as heck. He sucked up his breath and put on an understanding smile. "No harm done, Tweek." The blonde twitched and smiled in return.

"You guys want to watch the Terrance and Phillip reboot with us this weekend?" Kyle asked. "It's gonna be at Butter's."

"S-sure," both boys nodded.

"Cool, the more the merrier." Stan grinned.

"Glad you invited us," said Jimmy. "Anyway, we'd b-better get going. Craig wants us to meet with him afterschool. See you guys l-later!" He and Tweek waves goodbye and walked out the door.

"We'd better get going as well," Kyle turned to his group. "I really want to finish me homework fast." He started for the door which Jimmy and Tweek walked through first. The group followed.

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 **A/N: That's the first chapter! I had this longer, but decided to cut out the rest because this felt like a good stopping point. Plus, if you've seen enough South Park episodes and know how conflicts end, then you know exactly what happens in the next chapter. If that was in this chapter, then I basically rushed the first part, which I don't intend on doing or it would look like this story is less thought out then what I hoped for. Actually this is kinda short... not my best start, but it was my fault for cutting the chapter short. xD**

 **I don't have much of the next one written out, because I take amazingly long at writing the first parts for stories. I want this to be my first actual good fanfic with a good start, so bear with me. It'll come out good.**


	2. Realizing and Confining

**Disclaimer: Everything South Park related belongs to the creators. I own none of it.**

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Chapter 2: Realizing and Confining

The outside air was incredibly cold as it said goodbye to the autumn winds and prepared for winter blizzards. Snow danced in the gray sky, swirling along its windy companion. Despite it all, kids were playing in the snow as they do everyday. The stream of students ran out of the school and spread out into the streets. Kyle took a few breaths of misty air, immediately feeling a shiver run down his spine.

"Man, I know it snows almost all year long, but doesn't it feel like we're getting colder every year?" He rubbed his arms shakily.

"Not that it really matters, but if we can't stand _this_ weather, there's no way we'll stand up to the blizzard coming later this month," Stan stated. "I don't wanna get a cold before hanging out with you guys to see the reboot." Kyle smiled at his best friend. Stan grinned in return. The five walked down the street, the snow crushed and leaving imprints under their shoes.

Kenny looked at Eric, who stared down to the ground. He smiled. "Hey Cartman, I gotta admit, you're doing a pretty good job at being nice." Eric nodded. It didn't look like it, but he was trying his hardest not to say anything his buddies will consider "mean," especially with Kyle walking alongside them. He spent a bit of time rearranging his regular vocabulary so it sounds nicer. He felt strained having to quit saying his usual jibes about the one guy who's easily offended by him.

Speaking of the true challenge himself, Kyle scoffed. Cartman twitched at the sound, knowing what the red-head was implying. "Y-you got a cold there, Kyle?"

The latter looked at him with smile. "No, just got something in my throat." He coughed a couple times, as if he really meant it. "But thanks for being concerned."

Preventing any argument from insuring, Butters chimed in. "Hey, maybe we can bring our Terrance and Phillip merchandise to the hangout, so that we have that sort of atmosphere while watching."

Stan nodded in agreement. "Sure, we can have something to celebrate with if the reboot isn't what we expected."

"Oh, don't be like that, Stan," Butters pouted. "It might be like the show. I mean, we still laugh at the original. The people are just a bit older in this one - doesn't mean the humor has worn out."

"I hope so," Kenny crossed his fingers. "We just got over the worst arguments at school debating if the show is gonna be good or not."

"Yeah, debates that _someone_ we know started, " Kyle sneered. Cartman looked over at the former, knowing exactly who he meant.

"It's over now, Kyle. I only wanted to make sure everyone was hyped."

"Everyone knew about it and was hyped," Kyle confirmed. "You started an argument around class for a month debating how good the show is gonna be. And you started it by telling Butters and Craig two different sides of the argument!"

"That's the past, Kyle. It's over now, and living in the past when we were arguing is not cool. It's gonna start another fight," Cartman replied, his voice still calm. His eyes were locked on the street instead of Kyle, trying to avoid getting too pissed off.

"Yeah Kyle, me and Craig are over it now, so it's no big deal," said Butters . "Anyway, now that we have more plans for the hangout, I think we gotta tell the others about it."

"I'll text them the information," Stan volunteered. "But before that, we better think of what else we should plan."

"What about food?" Kenny suggested. "I'm down with chips. It's been a while since I had any. And maybe we could order a pizza or get drinks! Our dads do that sometimes. And what sort of drinks should we get? Should we get juice or the fizzy stuff?" He was getting a little excited, grinning at the thought of a snack fest for the hangout.

Stan elbowed him in the rib. "Don't get too hungry, because Butters' parents are gonna get snacks. And I don't know if we can go crazy with it, even though we're inviting a bunch of people." Butters nodded.

"Actually, my parents are willing to buy lots of snacks. We just can't be too rough about it."

"We'd probably need fatty here to clean it all up if we can't eat anymore, but then again we'd starve first with him at the hangout," Kyle muttered, looking over at the silent Cartman.

Cartman just looked on and took deep breaths. He didn't want to get pissed off, even though he already was. Keeping his mouth shut when he could silence the red head taunting him was harder than it should have been. "You're not supposed to make this hard for me."

"Yeah that's true Kyle," Stan agreed.

"What are you talking about?" asked Kyle.

"We made a deal with Cartman, and agreed to not make this hard on him. This is going against that, really. In fact it's kinda like you're pissing off Cartman on purpose so he won't come."

"No I'm not!" Kyle protested. "Look at it this way: Cartman has manipulated and insulted everyone over the years. We actually get out chance now because of the deal with him!"

"Yeah, we did make a deal. And as much as i would talk bad about him, we can't right now. It's weird seeing you go against that, but it's obvious you are just doing this because you hate Cartman."

"So. Does. Everyone!"

Everything that happens after was a sudden blur. A yellow and red streak smashed against bare flesh, and a terrible knocking sound echoed. Butters, Kenny, and Stan stared in horror. Kyle laid unmoving and face planted in a patch of snow. Cartman stood in a ready position as if he was about to tackle someone. He stared down at his friend with an intense glare, his blank face turned into a messy snarl.

"Oh my gosh."

Eric glared at his fallen opponent, teeth bared and eyes locked on him with a burning rage. After a few steady breaths and realizing what he did, he gasped and covered his mouth with both hands. "Kyle!" He dropped to his knees near the latter, but was pushed back suddenly by a green-mitten hand. Kyle got to his knees as well, and looked with enraged eyes. His cheek where Eric punched him swelled with a nasty purple hue.

"That's it, Cartman. You lost, and you can't come to the hangout." Kyle growled as he stood up and brushed off the snow from his clothes. Cartman blinked a few times trying to figure out what just happened. He returned a glare at his friend, standing up.

"Hang on, _you_ were the one who was trying to piss me off in the first place! That didn't count!"

"Yes it did! I was making sure you could handle the rest of the week! But no, look what happened here, fatty!" Kyle pointed to the bruise on his cheek.

"Like you even care about me being there, Kyle! Just like Stan and Kenny said, you just don't want me there, and now I lost because of you!"

"You lost because of yourself!"

"Oh, that's it. Screw you guys, I'm going home!" Cartman left in a huff, stomping off into the distance alone. Stan, Butters, and Kenny just stood there, flabbergasted by everything that just happened. Kyle flipped off in Cartman's direction, and turned to the remaining party. "... What, like you didn't expect that to happen?"

Kenny looked at him with confusion and disappointment. "Dude, I know Cartman gets on our nerves and he lost the challenge, but wasn't that a bit much, taunting him and all?"

Kyle sighed, knowing what he did was against the rules the guys set during lunch. "Yeah, I guess. But whatever, nothing can be done about it now. Cartman's just going to act cool and try to get back in the hangout by being nice and pretending none of this happened."

"B-but he can't... can he?" Butters asked.

"No, he can't. At least he won't be there to piss everyone off or eat all the food like he usually does." Kyle sighed, and headed for home. 

As for the so-called fatty himself, he huffed all the way home, kicking up piles of snow that were in his way. _"Lousy bet, lousy Kyle, lousy everything!"_ He turned the knob of his wooden door, and slammed it loudly before running upstairs to his room. Tossing his bag violently across the room, Cartman flopped on his bed and screamed as loud as he could, despite the mattress muffling his words. "Kyyyyyle!" He threw his arms and legs in the air, bawling into the thick fabric until his lungs hurt so much he needed to breathe. He flipped himself over and looked at his ceiling, just wanting to forget that ever happened. He felt like he could make it, and it was just the first day. No less than six hours and he lost his one chance to prove he could be nice. He imagined coming back to school the next day, the guys staring down at him with indifference and disappointment, with Kyle and his bruised face giving him the worst look of all. Tears welled up in his eyes, and he wiped it away with his sleeve.

"Sweetie-kins? Are you alright?" asked the calm voice of his mother. Liane peeked from outside the door, carrying a basket of laundry. "I just heard the door slam."

"No I'm not alright, Mom!" Cartman screamed, still looking at the ceiling. "Just leave me alone!"

"Oh okay, then. Could you please sort your laundry and feed Mr. Kitty? I'll be downstairs making dinner in case you need me."

"I'm pissed off right now! I'll do it later!" No response. Cartman's mother had already gone downstairs. She left the basket near the door. Cartman sat up on his bed. He sighed. His mother was a strange one, and she still is. He always manipulated her with a tantrum simply because she was willing to most of the time. Why she gave in was confusing, however. She has grown a spine that showed occasional, during times where she stood her ground and was firm with her son like a normal parent. At times like those it took a while before his mother softened back to her regular submissive self. She's been in her firm ground a few times recently, the times when his friends had to hangout at his house if having snacks provided for them. But he didn't really care anyway, because they still got food.

Remembering the hangout, Cartman groaned. "What now... I can't even go to the hangout because of Kyle. Won't hang out with them or eat snacks..."

"Meow?"

Cartman looked at the bottom of his bed. Mr. Kitty sat near his feet, looking up with confused eyes. "Meow?"

"Not now, Mr. Kitty," Cartman shooed his pet. "I don't feel like doing anything right now." The cat stared at the latter, then leaped on the bed and curled up next to him. Cartman sighed. "No, Mr. Kitty, I said leave me alone." The cat didn't listen.

"Uuuugghh... I'm going somewhere else now," Cartman got off his bed and to his desk. Mr. Kitty followed him and hopped on his desk. He curled up on top of a red book that was nearly hidden by a surrounding wall of rolled-up posters. "No, Mr. Kitty, you don't sit there!" Eric picked up his cat and set him on the floor. "Bad kitty."

The cat stared at him for a few seconds, then left out the door, finally getting the message. Eric sighed with relief, then pulled out the book his cat was sitting on. The book had a red cover and a brown spine - a very plain book with neat letters reading "Extra Personal Journal." The boy stared at the book in his gloved hands, contemplating what he should do with it. He felt like writing down everything from the heart, but it wasn't time yet. However, he didn't think he could really last a bit longer. He looked at his clock. "5:30 p.m."

"... Maybe after dinner, like usual." He pulled his bag to his chair and dumped his homework on his desk. He decided to get this thing over with so he could mull over what to write in his-

"Eric? Sweetie-kins?" Liane was calling from downstairs. "Can you come here for a second please?" Cartman groaned again. He was just getting to his homework to hopefully get his mind off things. "No, Mom!"

"Eric! I'm asking you to come down here right now!" And came the parental backbone yet again. "I need to talk to you about something you did earlier!"

Cartman froze. He knew exactly what his mother was talking about. Suddenly forgetting about his dominant stature, he approached the door and stalked the halls at the speed of a turtle. He got to the stairs and looked down from top of the railing. His mother looked at him with a cold glare, something that was extremely rare for him to be frightened of. "I want you downstairs, Eric," she pointed to the spot beside her. Cartman slid down the stairs carefully.

"Now, Eric!" Full of surprising fear, Cartman rushed down the stairs and stood next to his mother. He's never felt so scared of the person he dominated in his entire life. Liane had her arms crossed as she looked down at her son. He tried to look innocent like always, but because this situation happened more than once and she wasn't buying any of his tricks.

"Eric Cartman, you do remember a certain rule we established, do you?" The boy shook his head. "Well, Kyle's mother called me saying you hit her son in the face after school today. I told you no hurting your friends."

"Mooooooom, Kyle was making fun of me!" Cartman protest. His mother, who would normally shrug it off and do her own thing, only narrowed her eyes as she continued to pierce a solid glare at her "innocent" son. "Moooooom-"

"Mrs. Broflovski and I want you to apologize to Kyle tomorrow. You two are friends who have such a terrible feud, and we want both of you to be good to each other. But that can't happen if you're going around hurting him like always."

 _Wait, they knew?!_ Eric realized. Every taunt and jibe pointed toward his easily offended target... "Kyle told you?!"

"He told his mother, who then told me," Liane explained. "To think this has been going on for ages and we had little to no clue about it!"

"But Moooom-"

"No buts, Eric! I expect an apology tomorrow, and I will hear from Kyle and his mother, so you won't tell me any lies," Liane stood her ground, being the form of authority in the house. "Now do what I asked you earlier and come down when I call you for dinner. After that, feed Mr. Kitty and go to bed! I won't have any word from you for the rest of the day."

"Aaaaaaaagh!" Cartman stomped to his room, ignoring his mother telling him to not stomp around. He slammed the door and sat at his desk with a forced groan. He turned back to his open textbook, muttering about how his attentive rival threw him under the bus, figuratively speaking.

First his friends wouldn't believe him about being nice and had him do a challenge, one that Kyle ruined by pissing him off so badly regardless of the rules, and then not just what happened, but _everything before that_ was passed on to their mothers with him getting the end of the stick. Then again, how was Kyle willing to avoid showing his mom a bruised eye? Now that he can't go to the hangout, he won't enjoy snacks or the show with other people. It was just like his rival to get at him for what he did, having success many times.

But when Kyle pissed him off... Stan and Kenny stated how the former was cheating. So technically, he hasn't really lost in a way.

 _Wait,_ Cartman thought over the hangout. _I might be able to stay nice and everyone will redeem me! Kyle did cheat, as Stan stated, and if I keep being nice, I could last up to Saturday and join my friends!_ It seemed like a clever idea, although Kyle would most likely tell everyone that he failed and can't go to the hangout. Stan and Kenny may or may not stand up for him, since they were witnesses but noted how Kyle was cheating. Butters still could be manipulated to come to Cartman's side, even though he has begun to stand his ground. But he was a witness too... a witness who didn't say anything at all during the argument.

Cartman had to think over everything tomorrow to be able to convince everyone that he was still eligible to do the challenge, regardless of Kyle disapproving his innocence. Before school starts, the gang - him, Kyle, Stan, Kenny, and Butters - meets with Craig's gang out in the halls. The earliest person to arrive is Craig, since he lives the closest to the school out of both group. He walks to school every morning, and waits outside the doors until one of his friends comes. Clyde was next, since both of them were next-door neighbors. Whether they continue to wait or just go inside and stick around their lockers is unknown. For Cartman's group, Kyle and Stan are normally the first to get around to walking to school. They stop by at Kenny's first, then they go ahead and walk to school, stopping by Butter's and occasionally Cartman's since the two are neighbors. If Butters gets out of his house first, the four always wait for their big-boned associate. This all happens in the span of thirty minutes, and walking to school is roughly ten minutes. When the group reaches school, Craig and his whole gang is at their lockers, and they chat until the first bell rings. School starts at 8:00 in the morning, so Cartman usually wakes up at 7:15, which gives him enough time to get ready and go to school with his friends. Craig told him once that he leaves for school at 6:55 a.m. and gets to school in five minutes. Clyde meets with him 5-10 minutes later, and the rest of the group comes at different times. If Cartman leaves for school at 6:45, he'll get to school around the time Craig leaves his house, and will be able to convince Craig before Clyde comes. Clyde and Craig are a pair who agree and side against Cartman if he has to convince both of them simultaneously. Should he tell Craig first, he will have one person supporting his innocence in case Clyde gets suspicious. But then there was the issue of Token, Jimmy, and Tweek; the other three don't have a specific time of coming to school, and their relationship with Cartman is hard to tell. That will have to be solved with luck and skill. By the time Cartman's group comes to school, he'll have five people on his side, three witnesses who know what happened, and only Kyle to get upset.

 _Perfect! Everything should go as planned so long as I wake up early and convince five people,_ the teen thought cunningly. _Nothing too hard than what I've thought of before... that went into success._ True, a majority had gone into failure, but he was certain this one will work. It's nothing over-the-top like his fourth grade plans, which seemed far-fetched yet had a chance. Plus, he's older now, so he's more careful about making everything work.

Almost everything, anyway.

"Eric!" called his mother. "Dinnertime, hon!" Cartman bounded down the stairs in excitement, his heart pumping with exhilaration. His mother smiled at him at the table, a fine dinner feast set before her. The teen hopped into a chair and grabbed food and placed it on his plate. Liane smiled at her son, happy with his excitement. "Seems like you're having fun, dear." She appeared to have gone back to her regularly loving and calm self. The both of them ate their dinner, with the cat coming down to sit on Eric's lap. The latter was reluctant, letting his feline pet rest on him while he devoured his meal like a predator to its prey.

"I'm glad you're feeling happy now, sweetie-kins," his mother smiled. She began to talk about how her day went, gossip from neighborhood wives and what she'll be picking up for lunch the following day. She zones out a lot doing this, captivated by her own speech as if she's talking to herself the whole time and not to anyone else. As usual, Cartman half listened. His mother loved to talk a lot, taking up long hours with her motherly chatter. In a few minutes, Cartman had already finished his plate. Rather than going for seconds, and maybe thirds, he left his plate on the table and went up the stairs, leaving his mother's rambling to herself. She'll come to reality eventually, then go back to cleaning and smiling.

Eric threw himself onto his bed, the gleeful feeling still coursing through his body. Kyle wasn't about to have his chance at going to a group hangout where he won't be, and he'll still prove that he can be nice to everyone. And this time, Kyle has to play fair, since Stan, Kenny, and Butters noticed how he was trying to get Cartman out of the event.

Cartman set his alarm clock to 6:45, giving him plenty of time to get to Craig and finally initiate his plan. Staring at the ceiling, he imagined the hangout - food, laughing, making fun of the show, and best of all, Kyle being upset because he of all people has completed the challenge. He really hoped everyone will congratulate him on the success of being nice, remembering how hard it was earlier at school. It's not everyday someone actually complimented him on something, which usually came from his mother.

Shutting the light off, Eric closed his eyes and replayed the image of being at the hangout. The continuous cheers and smiles on everyone helped him drift to sleep.

 _Mark my words, Kyle. I_ will _win this time._

* * *

 **A/N: Aaaaahhhh, that's a wrap! I loved working on Cartman's thinking part; it's fun making up a plan and making sure it works well. Then again, they aren't the most flexible, so that's a flaw (maybe that's a spoiler for next chapter, who knows?) I'm sorry for the rushed ending paragraph, but I got too excited and had to finish this before the new episode airing today (for those reading this much later after posting this chapter, I'm referring to Season 20 episode 4). And about the planning, I used the layout of South Park in Stick of Truth, where indeed Craig does live closest to school out of the groups.  
**

 **Next chapter will come out in December, since a friend requested me to write something for his friend and it takes about a month to write one chapter. He's asking for a one-shot, so there's nothing to worry about. I'm sure you're all used to my delays and procrastination if you're one of my long-lasting readers who had to put up with me being lazy.**

 **Read and review! I'll have the next chapter soon!**


	3. A Change of Plans

**A/N: I get two chapters posted in a timely manner, challenge myself to write two things at once in a span of two months, and I end up failing both because schoolwork and I'm a lazy writer. Moral of the story: never bet on anything even if you got a good pace going.  
**

 **I decided to put less priority on that other thing I was working on since four months were used to work on it and it's not complete (one-shots are awfully long, being what I learned from that). Also, the two previous chapters were edited since I wasn't satisfied, which adds to this chapter's delay. I'm also not satisfied with how I write, focusing more on story progression than character development. This fanfic is about Cartman and I haven't done anything about him. How do you guys read my stuff. Seriously.  
**

 **Now that I'm satisfied with how the previous ones are, I'm back to fanfictions! Or at least, I try to be.  
**

 **Disclaimer: Everything South Park related doesn't belong to me.**

* * *

Chapter 3: A Change of Plans

The sky was still painted with the black and blue of night, yet soft white streaks slashed the horizon, signaling the rising sun. The streets were fairly quiet, the silence interrupted by the occasional hum of a car passing by. A thin layer of snow was spread out everywhere, as usual. A gentle glow came off from it as the sun rose, glinting off to places where the incoming daylight has yet to shine on. Everything seemed at peace.

Cartman was strolling down the street, looking at the scenery. It was 6:45 in the morning, and he had just left his house. He spent a couple minutes refreshing his memory on his hopefully-guarenteed-to-succeed plan that he had concocted last night. He spent a couple hours lying in bed, wide awake with a huge grin on his face, replaying his predicted scene of hanging out with the guys this weekend. Watching a nostalgic show rebooted, faces stuffed with snacks, and the endless talking and laughing that would bring memories for another day. l His plan was simple yet so perfect, there wasn't a way anywhere that it would work. Every time he thought that, Cartman knocked on his wooden nightstand three times. He didn't want anything to mess him up.

He ended up falling asleep close to midnight, which was bad since he needed really good rest to think of good schemes. Cartman was one of those people who needed to sleep at a certain time or he couldn't function properly the next day. However, since he was so indignant about his plan, the never-ending excitement that rooted from possible success is enough to keep him awake all day. Though he might need to carry something wooden just in case.

Being superstitiously cautious is important to success.

He got to school at 6:50, and stood at the steps of the door entrance. The janitor comes in at 7 o'clock to open the door and get started on the floors, so Cartman had a little more time to wait before he could go inside. Craig and his gang probably shows up this early to mess around with the windows and walls. Clyde once bragged that he and Craig splashed water on the windows and pelted them with snowballs until there was a thin frost covering the glass. No one had witnessed them at the time, so they didn't get in trouble. Craig elbowed him in the ribs for telling them that.

Clyde seemed to love talking about the misadventures he, Craig, Tweek and Token go on, strolling around the streets of South Park and occasionally playing a few jibes at Cartman and his crew. He was awfully bright among his friends, plastering a big smile on his pasty face every time Cartman saw him. His happiness seemed extremely unreal to him. Even Craig seemed to be annoyed by his friend from time to time. No one is that happy all the time, unless it was Clyde. He seemed like a perpetual annoyance, or a sugar-coated thorn on Craig's side.

"Hey, Cartman," a voice drew out monotonously.

Speaking of annoyance.

"Hey, Craig," Cartman greeted the facially-deadpan teen. "I see you _do_ come to school this early ."

Craig arched an eyebrow suspiciously. "Yeah, I do come this early. You think I'm lying or something?" He stopped at the bottom of the steps to look at Cartman straight in the eyes. Despite just starting puberty at the age of thirteen, Craig was already one of the tallest students in the class. His glare locked onto Cartman, who's eyes didn't waver.

"No, no, I just decided to come early, that's all," Cartman brushed off the stare like it was an annoying bug. Craig hummed. He was usually hard for Cartman to manipulate, given his grown intelligence. He doesn't fall for Cartman's schemes so easily as he used to, and is annoyed when the brunet decides to bring up a plan.

"... You're early because you want to brag about winning, aren't you?" Craig asked.

Cartman scoffed, then held up his hands defensively. "I didn't need to explain any further for you to get it, now did I?" It wasn't his intended plan (even though bragging was a habit of his), but to throw off suspicion, he went along with it. "You've gotten smarter, Craig. I'm impressed."

"Don't patronize me," Craig muttered. His expression rarely changed, which made it hard to tell if he's angry or simply deadpan. His tone didn't help either, always sounding bored and indifferent.

He cocked his head. "So how's that challenge going for you?"

"Honestly, I'm doing pretty well," Cartman put his hands behind his head, acting as normal as he could. "Unless you don't count home."

Craig hummed, and eyed Cartman warily. "How can I tell you're being honest?" he asked. He bent down to grab a handful of snow, then started patting it into a ball. "You could be lying to me."

Cartman tensed. Taking a quick breath, he answered. "Well, when I was challenged to be nice for the rest of the week, did that include lying?"

"I dunno, but that's not what I asked," Craig held his newly crafted snowball in his palm and tossed it onto the roof of the building. It broke apart with a soft splat. Bits of the crumbled snow fell to the ground. "Are you lying or not?"

 _This guy is pissing me off_ , Cartman thought. "No, I'm not." He changed his expression to look more serious, trying to remember what he would do if he actually wasn't lying. Then again, if he wasn't, he would tell Craig straight up without acting like a cocky jester.

"I still don't believe you," Craig muttered.

"Of course you don't," Cartman replied. He was starting to get upset at the monotone teen. _This isn't going how I planned...  
_  
"What's up, you guys?" called out a cheerful voice. Craig turned around, and Cartman silently breathed a sigh of relief. Clyde was walking up to them, waving like a dork. As always, Clyde was grinning ear to ear. It might as well be his signature feature by now.

"Cartman got here early today, and I think it's a little suspicious," Craig pointed a thumb back at the brunet, who stuck out the bottom of his lip grudgingly. Clyde looked behind his friend, and his face also contorted into a confused expression. He was a bit on the dense side, but almost never looked confused, which was a little bad for Cartman.

"... Are you here to ask about the challenge, Cartman?" Clyde asked after a few moments. "You don't have me to worry about; I'm usually a peppy kind of guy. You got Kyle to worry about, right?"

Okay, maybe density could be thrown out the window by just a tad.

Feigning off his pressure, Cartman scratched behind his head and nodded nervously, as if he's embarrassed to admit to something. "Yeeaaah, I am."

"Knew it," Craig glanced back at Cartman. He didn't look smug or upset, but the fact that he said it discouraged Cartman a bit. Kyle's not the only one he has to worry about, it would seem.

"Well, okay then. How's your progress?" Clyde asked.

"He says he's doing pretty well," Craig interjected once more. He was facing Clyde now. "Says he's honest about it, too."

Clyde grinned and looked back at Cartman. "Well that's good. We can have less nerve bursting around here, then. Am I right?" He elbowed Craig in the arm.

Craig hummed again. "Dunno if Kyle isn't going to keep being pissed off. You know as well as everyone in this school does that Kyle has every right to be angry at you, Cartman. And to be honest, so does the whole class."

"Remember you guys need to be nice to me," Cartman warned. Craig shrugged.

"I'm not trying to insult you, dude. Just stating facts in a really deadpan voice."

Your voice is always deadpan, Cartman thought to himself. He felt ready to throw a meager insult that very moment.

Clyde piped up again, constantly bringing his cheery atmosphere into the tense conversation. "We should probably plan what snacks we should bring then, huh? How does a box of assorted Doritos sound?" Craig looked over his shoulder and grumbled.

"Not the time, Clyde," he said.

"It's always a good time to talk about food!" Clyde smiled. His smile didn't look as convincing as it was before. He might be having a hard time trying to keep the conversation light.

"Whatever. You do you," Craig waved a hand dismissively. He turned back to Cartman, who didn't look too happy either. "So how's that challenge going for you?"

Cartman was nearly at his wit's end. He could throw another punch like yesterday, but that would ruin his chances of winning the bet. And he really wanted to be at the hangout.

He sighed dramatically and slouched in defeat. "It's been really hard, Craig. Thanks for asking."

Craig smiled just a bit and hummed. "Honesty. There we go."

Clyde gave his friend a look. "You made a serious conversation with Cartman just to see if he was being honest about his progress?" he asked. Craig nodded, relieved. Cartman sulked.

"How can anyone, especially Cartman, say they're having an easy time trying to be nice?" Craig arched an eyebrow. He looked back at Cartman, who had no interest in his words whatsoever. "No offense."

"None taken." _Not like I can anyway._

"Well, that was pretty clever of you, but man! We need to start going to the park more, you've gone pretty low in terms of interest. Maybe you need a girlfriend or something," Clyde elbowed his friend and laughed.

Craig grimaced and gave him the finger in return. "It's still best to be wary." At that moment, a few cars bustled by, slowing to a stop near the school. Cartman realized that school was going to start, and so will his test.

That was almost too easy. Practically a walk in the park.

No one actually considered that Cartman may be lying about being nice for a whole day. Since everyone knew he was extremely serious about beating Kyle in every bet they make, it seemed obvious Cartman wouldn't dare make a single insult to anyone for a week. There weren't even any shortcuts to being nice, which made the persuasion a lot easier than the brunet had anticipated. Maybe he was too worked up over his plan to realize what people thought of him when it came to bets. He was finally at ease.

Eve though the plan still cost him roughly two hours of precious sleep.

It seemed everyone caught word of the bet and the conditions made, because every comment that was received in front of Cartman was nothing but mild congratulations for making it through almost twenty four hours without insulting anyone and talking about the hangout this coming Saturday. Then again, those people could be making bad comments behind his back, but it didn't matter. Only Craig's gang and Cartman's friends had to follow the conditions.

Cartman was at his locker when Clyde came over, looking as chipper as ever. For once, Cartman felt at ease with the boy's happy-go-lucky presence.

"Hey Cartman, I'm actually kinda stoked you'll be coming to the hangout this Saturday," Clyde said. "You and your guys were the ones who got us into Terrence and Phillip in the first place, so you probably know more about the show than everyone else. Give a valid opinion about the reboot and stuff."

Cartman remembered when he and his friends blasted swear words in song back in third grade, eventually the whole class joining under the new admiration for the Canadian stars. "Yeah, I'm wondering what new humor the reboot will give us. Though I don't mind the classics returning to the screen."

"Imagine all the snacks Butters' parents are gonna get. Doritos, Oreos, Fritos..." Clyde salivated at his own talk, getting dreamy-eyed at his tasty predictions. Cartman, being another guilty consumer, mulled at the thought of a scrumptious variety.

"What I'd love to get is a nice plate of maple sugar cookies, in celebration of the event." Whenever the guys hung out just to watch some Terrence and Phillip, they usually brought out some maple sugar cookies to match with the theme.

"Dude, I'm getting so hungry now, and I just ate breakfast!" Clyde groaned and rubbed his stomach. "Now I want lunch to get here faster."

"I can agree," Cartman said. He and Clyde always seemed to have the best food conversations, which was primarily why the two got along pretty well. They've never gone out to eat somewhere, surprisingly, which was another thing Cartman wanted to try out. Clyde was a little unusual for his overly-happy demeanor, but his love for food made it seem alright. Cartman would be happy at the sight of food, too.

"Speaking of which, what does the schedule say for today's lunch? I totally forgot," Clyde grumbled.

Cartman was about to answer when a screechy voice suddenly pierced the air like a bullet.

"Cartman!"

Unfortunately, there was no doubt that the voice dreadfully belonged to Kyle. As the once chatty halls silenced to where the only sound was the pounding footsteps, everyone's gaze turned to the raging bull coming for the boys in red.

What especially turned Cartman cold was the flesh of Kyle's cheek looking frighteningly darker than it was yesterday. The skin looked like it had only gotten worse instead of better, as if it was mimicking the aura of the person who wore it: dark, deadly, and full of hate.

Hurriedly following the angered redhead were Stan, Kenny, and Butters, all looking terrified as quietly scurried in Kyle's shadow. They were as scared as everyone else in the halls.

"You lying piece of lard!" Kyle jabbed a finger accusing on Cartman's shoulder. Cartman and Clyde took a step back in fear. "Why did you tell everyone you were nice all day yesterday? You hit me in the face, fatty!"

Clyde gulped and turned to Cartman. His lips quivered slightly, too afraid to talk in front of the angered boy. "You... didn't make it past a day?"

"Of course he didn't, Clyde!" Kyle screamed. "How could he? Am I seriously the only person around here who knew that and didn't believe that he could make it?" Kyle grunted in frustration, pulling the flaps of his hat down his ears. Stan, Kenny, and Butters stood there behind him, almost too afraid to make a move.

"Well, it could have be worth giving me a try," Cartman whispered. Never had he felt so scared of Kyle before in his life, and that said a lot. Under normal circumstances he would act playfully and pretend nothing happened, then get angry and accuse Kyle of lying. However, due to the bet, he had nothing but the complete truth to bear. A chill ran down his spine, and for moment, Cartman felt his heart sink in guilt.

Kyle glared at him, and for a moment it seemed he wanted to lunge at the brunet and beat the sense into him. "Regardless of what I thought, we gave you a chance, and look at what that got me!" He pointed at the sullen purple flesh with mad emphasis, repeatedly poking his skin until the others got the point.

Stan shakily stepped forward, attempting to say something to his best friend. It seemed everyone was in fear of angering Kyle any further. "Well, you did offhandedly insult him before he hit you."

Kyle whipped his head in Stan's direction. He glared at him for a few moments, seething in anger. Then, his anger anticlimactically died out almost instantly.

Kyle sighed, and his expression changed to a more relaxed but tired face. But when he looked at Cartman, he furled his eyebrows and muttered. "You still lost, Cartman." He walked away, leaving everyone in shock of his tantrum.

Kenny turned to Cartman and Clyde, who were still frozen from the teen's outbursts. "You guys okay?"

Cartman nodded, but deep down, he knew that everyone now knows he lied. He lost the bet within a day. He can't go to the hangout. And Kyle won.

...

Middle school gossip really does spread like a wildfire. After the incident earlier that morning, no one came to Cartman to congratulate him, already knowing he lost a bet and doesn't keep his word. In retrospect, it was amazing they had believed it all in the first place, despite the tension Cartman is known to carry when he agrees to a bet. The boys hanging out in cafeteria during lunch spoke nothing of it either. Instead they carried on with everyday chatter and casual banter, but with one person preferring to stay quiet in the midst of the conversation. One could only guess it was to save whatever pride Cartman had left.

"Did you guys finish the science homework due today?" Stan yawned. "Outlining the whole chapter took me all night since Shelly was having a slumber party with some friends."

"Yeah, it was pretty hard," Kyle said, patting his friend's back. "Why does Mrs. Caryl make us do an outline on a chapter and give us a quiz afterward? Don't we have to review it and stuff?"

Token scoffed. "You ace all her quizzes, dude. Nothing but A's this year." Kyle shrugged.

"Well I know now that she gives us a quiz after every chapter, so I know to study the outline after I'm done with it. But still, we can at least have a few days to work on a chapter. It feels like we're rushing through the whole book!"

"Maybe if we finish the whole book, we'll have nothing but free periods for the rest of the year," Clyde muffled between bites of his lunch.

"Hah, too good to be true," Stan laughed. The four of them had their little conversation to themselves while the others ate their own lunches.

Cartman half-listened to the guys talking while he was in deep thought. All his excitement had gone down the drain, leaving nothing but a dry, brittle shred of hope. A part of him knew he shouldn't have had such high hopes. He couldn't believe he forgot the bruise that looked so out of place on Kyle's skin. That moment was burned into his mind for a second, then replaced with his usual spell of hate, complaining, and unusual hoping for things to be better when he wakes up the next morning.

But it already was the next morning. And nothing had gotten any better than the day before.

"Are you alright, Cartman?" Kenny poked him with the end of his fork. His face had unusual concern for the boy. Cartman shook his head, admitting he wasn't feeling alright.

"I mean, I lost, Kenny. What else now?" Cartman sighed. Kenny scrunched up his face, as if he was confused and a little disgusted. He always had a little concern for Cartman, regardless of the latter's vile attitude in the past. Just like Clyde, Kenny was an enigma of understanding, managing to have a decent conversation with Cartman without it ending in a disaster. At the very least, he was willing to sit next to the brunet and get a word or two out of him.

"Dude, it's weird seeing you admit defeat and junk," Kenny scratched his head. "You're like, one of the most egotistic people I know, so you never back down when someone messes with your 'authoritah.'"

That was true. In all the bets, challenges, and misfits that Cartman made with anybody, especially Kyle, he would do anything to win and never admitted defeat until it was as clear as day. Even though he doesn't do it much anymore, he had a tendency to cheat and go over the line in order to ensure his victory. Seeing himself sulk like a rejected blob was really out of character.

"I'm realizing things I never did before, Kenny. Kyle had every advantage from me from the start. I don't have the best reputation around, I'm pretty easy to piss off, and the bruise I gave him... it's more than enough proof. I don't want this to go on. It's better to be the better person and just admit defeat." Cartman played around with a piece of lunch meat left on his plate. Kenny was surprised by his wise reply. He stroked his chin thoughtfully, carefully going over what his friend said.

"Kyle argued with you first, which led to you punching him, right?"

Cartman nodded, already seeing where the blonde boy was getting at.

"You can still be nice this week since Kyle broke the conditions first before you did. So it kinda nullifies itself in a way. You can still do the bet." Kenny gave a dorky grin, as if to lighten up his friend.

Cartman rolled his eyes, not fazed by Kenny's smile. "What kind of crafty weasel do you take me for to not consider that, Kenny? I know I can do that. But it's pretty useless to me now. I kinda don't want to go to the hangout anymore."

"Quit lying to yourself." Kenny nudged Cartman's arm. "You know you wanna go and I know it," he said sing-song.

Cartman had to keep himself from smiling. Kenny was too nice to a guy like him. They sometimes hang out together on the occasion that Kenny would feel like it, usually watching television while eating at Cartman's house or finding something to do outside. The blonde teen was one of the few people who took pity on Cartman, but the only one who would rarely go out of their way to try and be around him more. It's a nice gesture, but still-

"You already know my answer, and it's not a yes, Kenny."

"So it's a 'definitely?' Alright!" Kenny turned to the others and said loud enough for everyone at the table to hear. "Cartman can still go to the hangout, and he agrees to it!" Everyone stopped and stared at Kenny, then Cartman, in confusion and surprise.

"Wait, are you serious?" Craig turned to Cartman, who was cringing at Kenny. "But you lost."

"Well, did you guys hear the _whole_ story?" Kenny smiled back, as if he had gotten away with cheating in a game of poker. Cartman cringed, feeling many eyes turn to look at him. "Stan, Butters, and I were witnesses to it."

"Kenny, I really don't think this is the best time to discuss it," Butters said, gazing fearfully at Kyle. "Can't we do it later or something?" Kyle nodded, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

"No time is better than the present, my friend," Kenny cleared his throat.

"Kenny, hush!" Cartman hissed. "I said I don't want to go."

"You don't want to go?" Clyde repeated.

"I'm doing you a favor, bud. And you better thank me later, because of course you want to go!" Kenny wrapped an arm around Cartman and smiled again. Cartman couldn't understand why someone was sticking up for him, and wanted to stop it. But Kenny had a mind of his own, and kept on talking.

"You see, when the guys and I were walking home yesterday, we were having a fine chat until _someone_ decided to bring up an argument. And for once, it's not the person we'd normally suspect. We were talking about a few things we want to set up for the hangout at Butters', but Kyle insulted Cartman in a pretty discreet way."

Kyle shifted in his seat when Craig's group eyed him warily.

"Cartman managed to get pass a couple insults, bit Kyle was already breaking the conditions. Stan, Butters, and I talked him out of making any further insults, since we agreed that Cartman has to be nice to us as long as we didn't make any bad comments about him. Kyle tried to convince us that this is a way we can kinda get back at Cartman, considering how much of a vulgar reputation the latter has. I give some lease for that, Kyle, since you and Cartman are pretty much rivals who fight almost every day."

"Cartman reached his breaking point after a few more insults, and punched Kyle in the cheek," Kenny threw a fist into his palm, mimicking the sound of the punch the other day. "Kyle got a pretty bad bruise, and blamed Cartman for starting it because he threw the punch despite having to be nice. In a sense, both of them broke both ends of the bet, so it kinda nullifies itself in a way. Therefore, Cartman can still continue the bet, which he does want to do."

"Kenny, I'm flattered, but I seriously don't want to do it anymore," Cartman protested. "Please just don't."

Kyle sighed. "Okay, you have a point, Kenny. I'm pretty worked up over flat out insulting him, but I still think the bet shouldn't go on. We both broke the ends of it, like you said, but it doesn't necessarily mean we can continue it like nothing happened. Cartman doesn't want to do it either, so we can just stop this."

"Does this mean Cartman can't come to the hangout?" Butters asked. "I still need to tell my parents how many people are coming."

"Can't we at least give Cartman the option of a second chance?" Clyde asked. "He doesn't have to take it up, but just in case he wants to do it, he can."

"I can kinda agree with that," Stan said. He turned to Cartman. "But you need to let us know if you'll take up the second chance tomorrow morning, okay?"

Cartman sulked, but nodded anyway. Too many people agreeing to give him a second chance, it was unnatural. Everyone was being too nice to him all of a sudden, even Kyle wad admitting to his mistakes, and it gave a really strange feeling. He felt like an anchor was sitting in his stomach, and he wanted to throw up. He wanted everyone to stop being so sympathetic and just go back to grudgingly tolerate his moody behavior. He was getting attention for something he slowly regretted, and he wanted everyone to forget it. Just like he wanted to forget he punched Kyle and left the horrifying bruise.

"Kyle?" Cartman gazed at his friend, trying to avoid eye contact and instead stare at the wall far behind him. "I... I'm sorry. For that bruise."

Kyle was surprised to see him straight up apologize to his face, as was everyone else at the table. Silence filled the air for a moment, then Kyle breathed and replied, "It's okay. We kinda went through much more than this back when we were crazy third and fourth graders, right?"

Cartman chuckled, allowing a small grin on his face.

"I'll tell my mom you apologized, okay? She'll call yours to confirm, then this mess is behind us."

"T-Thanks," Cartman muttered. Kenny elbowed him, and smiled, as if saying that everything worked. For a moment, it seemed to have worked: Kyle forgave him, his mom won't be mad, and he actually had a moment where people felt that he should be given a chance.

Then Cartman realized he had more issues to deal with. In the situation where he takes up the second chance, he'll have to stay nice again. It wasn't too hard the first time, and everyone learned their lesson in the end, but something more felt important and had to be dealt with. He doesn't feel completely comfortable with the groups yet, and a part of their connections he's within is slightly twisted where he comes in.

Cartman decided to take the rest of his issues away from everyone else. It was too personal, and as much as he wanted everyone to know about it, no time at the moment seemed right. And he only had so much time to fix up years of mistakes.

* * *

 **A/N: I worked a bit more thought in this story, since the characters were pretty flat and I wanted to give more depth to them than just Cartman. I might lead to some weird headcanons that I find pretty possible and kinda cool, like Cartman and Clyde being friends or whatnot. Gotta remind myself that this is a fanfiction and headcanons are what makes up one.**

 **I'm glad this one is way longer than the last two, even though I took an unbearably long break after writing two other fanfictions I decided to do. As always, I'm amazed I have any readers at all. Thank you to laraneechan, Boneheart, TheSheep,** **ktxirrxitc/gvoyckfxkgvou, Spirit Written, and Dalad for the reivews. Thank you to I love the simpsons and estepher for the favorites. Thank you to Boneheart, FurMunera, Komnenid, MihwaSawhnchs, The Game Changer, duckyquackers27, estepher, laraneechan, musicfashionlover, and supercomicreader421 for the follows. And thank you to all my readers for bearing with me. Why am I thanking you all when this story isn't finished? Well, you just waited five and a half months for one chapter. That's all there is to it.  
**

 **Look forward to the next chapter, because so will I.**


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